1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to electrical connectors used in the energizing of luminous advertising signs and displays e.g., neon signs, and more particularly to the manner of connection of the high tension electrical conductors to the electrodes conventionally mounted at the ends of the gas filled electric discharged tubes.
2. Description of Prior Art
Typically, the display tubes are mounted in a display or sign housing appropriately supported at the exterior of a building, and electrical connections are made through a length of rigid metal conduit which extends from the housing through the adjacent building wall to an electric raceway, box or the like, at the interior side of the wall. Electrodes are mounted in the opposite ends of lengths of gas-filled tubing and the electrodes have pig tail wires connected thereto and sealed in the adjacent end wall of the tube from which the wires extend for connection to the ends of the high tension conductors which are brought into the housing through the metal conduit. It has been common practice to effect the electrical connections by merely twisting together the pigtail wires and the ends of the high tension conductors.
Relatively high voltages are employed to excite the gas-filled tubes, and hence it is highly desirable to avoid the requirement for manual engagement of the connecting parts and the attendant electric shock hazard. A special connector known as the P-K connector has been developed to avoid this potential shock hazard. This connector comprises an enlarged dielectric tubular receptacle which is mounted within a cylindrical metal housing and which is adapted for mounting through the building wall on which the sign is mounted. The internal diameter of the dielectric receptacle is sufficiently large to telescopically receive an electrode bearing end of the neon tube which needs be fashioned to extend from the sign housing into the interior of the dielectric receptacle. An electric contact within the receptacle is connected to the end of a high tension conductor and makes contact with an electrode connected contact member carried at the end of the inserted tube. Consequently, the electrical connection to the tube is effected within the interior of the dielectric receptacle away from possible manual engagement and the connection is made automatically upon insertion of the tube end into the receptacle. The P-K connector has two principal disadvantages. One, the connector is of large size and requires the boring through the wall of relatively large holes for each of the high tension connectors. Secondly, the electrical connection is effected outside of the conventional sign housing and requires special fashioning of the electrode bearing ends of the sign tubes to provide for the extension of such ends through the normally back wall of the sign housing, outside of the housing, and into the wall mounted receptacles. Since only one electrical connection can be made for each P-K connector, a minimum of two such large wall openings and P-K connectors are required for each separately energized character or portion of the sign.